I grew up in a village with my sights firmly fixed on escaping to the city which was what attracted me to You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here. That title says it all for those of us who couldn’t wait to get away. Beginning in the 1990s, Frances Macken’s debut is set in Ireland where ten-year-old Evelyn, Katie and Maeve are inseparable, following them into a young adulthood in which each turns out to be not quite what the others expected.
Evelyn is the undoubted boss of this disparate threesome, with Katie second in command and in thrall to her. Maeve trails behind them, mousy and the butt of Evelyn’s snide remarks echoed by Katie, only tolerated because she’s Evelyn’s adopted cousin. Gossip is rife in Glenbruff and opportunities thin on the ground. By the time they’re teenagers, Evelyn’s much-voiced plans to escape are the hope that Katie latches on to, determined that Maeve will be left far behind. Katie wants to be a filmmaker, while Evelyn plans to study fine art despite no evidence of any talent. When a new girl arrives at school, Katie briefly entertains the idea of friendship with her but Pamela’s involvement with Katie’s tentative crush puts the kybosh on that, helped along by Evelyn’s disparagement. Then Pamela disappears without trace, a mystery which will cast a long shadow of suspicion over Glenbruff. When Evelyn’s hopes of art school are dashed, Katie is pulled up short. Once in Dublin, Evelyn’s sneering still echoes in her head, scuppering any other potential friendships. Several years later she’s back in Glenbruff to find that not much has changed and everything has changed.
‘God almighty. Why in the world would I want to be anyone else,‘ Evelyn snorts
Macken’s novel may ring a few very loud bells for some. She captures that desperate small town longing for bright lights and opportunity painfully well, narrating her novel through Katie, torn between her sometimes exasperating idolisation of Evelyn and her need to escape. The friendship between the three is well drawn, excruciatingly so at times as Evelyn struts around the small stage of Glenbruff, bolstering herself with her small humiliations of Maeve and basking in Katie’s regard until her influence begins to wane. Macken has a sharp ear for dialogue, scattering her novel with smartly funny lines.
Look at Mammy, sure, existing with the spectre of the unlived Self.
Katie’s parents were a small joy for me, reminding me of my own in their encouragement of her ambitions. Altogether a well turned out, enjoyable first novel which had me cheering Katie on at its end.
Oneworld Publications: London 2020 9781786077653 288 pages Hardback
I’ve seen this sort of relationship between a group of girls so many times during my time in education. Although I can’t place myself in that same small town environment, I think this is a book I might find very interesting.
Macken captures both situations painfully well, I think, although I’ve been luck enough not to have an Evelyn in my life.
This book is just wonderful! I actually really like it because it was so relatable to me! The small town setting and the friendship- just nostalgic.
I know what you mean. Very smartly done!
Oh yes, I didn’t grow up in a village, but I was part of a threesome and we called ourselves The Three Musketeers, because we had a pony and a stick each and rode around the paddock while our Dad’s played polo as a distraction from their sheep farming duties and we imagined riding off on adventures!
Your threesome sounds much happier that Evelyn, Katie and Maeve’s, Claire!
A wonderful review, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you, and you’re welcome!
I was always the one who didn’t want to leave. I couldn’t understand why everyone else was itching to get away!
I was champing at the bit, I’m afraid. Do you still live in the same town you grew up in, Naomi?
No, I’m 4 hours away. But I still love it, and can visit. 🙂
Sounds like the best of both worlds.
Really like the sound of this, I bet it woukd make a good TV adaptation too.
Definitely, set against an Irish rural background.
I’m a Londoner born and bred and thankfully I’ve never had an Evelyn in my life, but I think I’d still find a lot to enjoy here. It sounds beautifully drawn.
Macken’s writing is very evocative, capturing that ‘can’t wait to get away’ feeling that hanted my adolescence. I’m glad to hear that you’ve led an Evelyn-free life!
This sounds quite charming. I was one who yearned to leave as well, not the landscape (which I still love) but the small-mindedness.
That, and wanting to explore the world which I still love to do when I can.
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